Feds Charge 24 People In $1.2B Medicare Scam Involving Prescriptions For Unnecessary Orthotic Braces
April 10, 2019
Morning Briefing
Among those charged in what authorities say is one of the largest health care fraud schemes in history are doctors, call centers and medical equipment companies.
Postpartum Psychosis Is Real, Rare And Dangerous
By April Dembosky, KQED
January 25, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Postpartum psychosis is rare but very real, doctors say. And, unlike in some countries, U.S. moms who need inpatient psychiatric care can’t bring along their babies, adding to the trauma.
Centene To Snap Up Rival WellCare For $15B As It Dives Deeper Into Medicare, Medicaid Marketplace
March 28, 2019
Morning Briefing
The deal between Centene and WellCare would create a health care giant that specialized in offering private health plans under Medicare and Medicaid. The combined company, with revenues expected to approach $100 billion in 2019, would cover 22 million people in all 50 states.
Insulin’s Steep Price Leads To Deadly Rationing
By Bram Sable-Smith, Side Effects Public Media
September 7, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Alec Raeshawn Smith was 23 when diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and 26 when he died. He couldn’t afford $1,300 per month for his insulin and other diabetes supplies. So he tried to stretch the doses.
Staggering Prices Slow Insurers’ Coverage Of CAR-T Cancer Therapy
By Michelle Andrews
July 17, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Some state Medicaid programs are not paying for the procedures, and Medicare’s complicated payment rates have hospitals concerned that it will not cover all the costs.
With Some Republican Support, Virginia Edges Closer To Medicaid Expansion
By Megan Pauly, WCVE
March 16, 2018
KFF Health News Original
More than a dozen Republicans in the Virginia House of Delegates voted to expand Medicaid, and at least one state senator may be leaning in favor of expansion. It will be the hot topic as legislators are called back to Richmond to hash out a budget in the special session starting April 11.
Anthem Accuses Cigna Of Doing Everything In Its Power To Sabotage $49B Merger
February 26, 2019
Morning Briefing
Now that the deal has fallen apart, Cigna is seeking more than $16 billion in damages and termination fees, while Anthem claims it’s owed $20 billion in damages because of Cigna’s intransigence in turning over information to push the merger forward.
State Pay Cut For Dental Hygienists Who Serve The Poor Was Illegal, Court Finds
By Ana B. Ibarra
March 2, 2018
KFF Health News Original
California officials should have obtained federal approval before they cut reimbursement rates for dental hygienists who serve frail Californians living in nursing homes and board-and-care facilities, a judge has ruled.
Listen: Got A Sky-High Bill? Don’t Write The Check.
February 16, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Have you gotten a medical bill that sounds way too expensive or is just downright confusing? Send it to us. KHN Editor-in-Chief Elisabeth Rosenthal talks with NPR Morning Edition Host Steve Inskeep about the launch of “Bill Of The Month,” KHN and NPR’s new crowdsourced investigation.
Day-Tripping To The Dispensary: Seniors In Pain Hop Aboard The Canna-Bus
By Stephanie O'Neill
September 18, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Marijuana dispensaries are reaching out to seniors seeking help with the aches and pains of aging. They’re discovering an array of products, and some interesting side effects.
Desesperados, renuncian a la custodia de sus hijos para que reciban atención mental
By Christine Herman, Side Effects Public Media
January 9, 2019
KFF Health News Original
Muchos padres toman esta terrible decisión para que sus hijos puedan recibir costosos tratamientos psiquiátricos. Qué está fallando.
Well-Known Transgender Surgeon Resigns Following Furor Over Instagram Pictures Of Patients’ Genitals
March 15, 2019
Morning Briefing
Dr. Christopher Salgado, 50, worked at the L.G.B.T.Q. Center for Wellness, Gender and Sexual Health at the University of Miami Health System. “The purpose really was to be educational with it, but it went awry,” he said. However, critics were not only upset about the pictures but the captions that appeared to be mocking, as well.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Campaign Promises Kept, Plus ‘Nerd Reports’
May 24, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Sarah Kliff of Vox and Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo discuss a proposed administration regulation that seeks to separate Planned Parenthood from federal family planning funds, the final congressional passage of legislation aimed at helping those with terminal illnesses obtain experimental medications, and new government reports on the uninsured and federal health spending. Also, Rovner interviews KHN’s Liz Szabo about the May “Bill of the Month.”
Scrutinizing Medicare Coverage For Physical, Occupational And Speech Therapy
By Judith Graham
March 29, 2018
KFF Health News Original
Treatment has been terminated for some seniors because therapists told them they weren’t making enough progress or that they had reached their annual limit. We examine the treatment benefits and the barriers under Medicare’s coverage rules for therapy.
State Highlights: Where Hope For The Best Fails: Nearly 60% Of Women Experience Violence In Alaska; Enforced Staffing Ratios Would Cost $3B Yearly, New York Hospital Group Claims
June 26, 2019
Morning Briefing
Media outlets report on news from Alaska, New York, Florida, Minnesota, Arizona, Louisiana, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Georgia, Iowa, Texas and Michigan.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Health Law Fix Misses The Spending Bill Train
March 23, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Joanne Kenen of Politico, Anna Edney of Bloomberg News and Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times discuss the apparent demise of bipartisan legislation aimed at shoring up parts of the Affordable Care Act. They also discuss aggressive new efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco products. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week.
If High Court Reverses Roe V. Wade, 22 States Poised To Ban Abortion
By Julie Rovner
July 10, 2018
KFF Health News Original
As with current abortion policies, a woman’s access to the procedure would continue to be determined by where she lives.
Hidden FDA Reports Detail Harm Caused By Scores Of Medical Devices
By Christina Jewett
Photos by Heidi de Marco
March 7, 2019
KFF Health News Original
The Food and Drug Administration has let medical device companies file reports of injuries and malfunctions outside a widely scrutinized public database, leaving doctors and medical sleuths in the dark.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Rocky Road Ahead In Congress For Insurance Market Bills
March 15, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Alice Ollstein of Talking Points Memo, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Paige Winfield Cunningham of The Washington Post discuss the problems that are making congressional efforts to pass legislation to stabilize the individual insurance market a long shot.
Podcast: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ The ACA Heads Back To Court. Again.
March 1, 2018
KFF Health News Original
In this episode of KHN’s “What the Health?” Julie Rovner of Kaiser Health News, Margot Sanger-Katz of The New York Times, Joanne Kenen of Politico and Sarah Kliff of Vox discuss the latest lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. They also explore how your health care system increasingly depends on the state you live in. Plus, for extra credit, the panelists offer their favorite health policy stories of the week.